Page 22 of In The Dark
“Brennan in security is a sly asshole. I only have a license plate number, but it’s a start.”
“She came to see me again last weekend.”
“She camehere? And you didn’t tell me?” Leo hits me in the face with the decorative pillow he purchased to make the living room lookhomier. There’s a throw blanket draped over the back of the couch to add to the cozy ambience he was going for. A fresh candle on the coffee table and a picture frame of the two of us at high school graduation. I’m afraid they’re going to be the next projectiles. “Some best friend you are. I could’ve made cookies.”
“No, she didn’t come here. It was at Fright Nights. She found me in the house.” I rub a hand over my jaw, wishing my face was buried between her legs again. I’ve been thinking about her pussy nonstop. “I got her off. Twice.”
“You didwhat? And you didn’t get caught? You’re shitting me.”
“Nope. Hottest thing I’ve ever done, and nobody had a goddamn clue.Fuck. I wish there were security cameras back there so I could play it on repeat.”
“I’m feeling very single and miserable and lonely.” Leo scowls. “It must be so nice to have such a wonderful life.”
“It is.” I smirk. “Zero complaints.”
“Well, since you’re in a bragging mood, tell me about this girl.”
“She’s so… innocent. Like this pure, sweet woman who probably feeds the birds in the park and bakes dozens of cookies to hand out over the holidays. And I want to corrupt her so fucking bad. I want to find out what her limits are and push her there. It’s been years since I’ve been with someone so?—”
“Vanilla?”
I level him with a look. “Unaware of their fantasies. I started to tap into some when I was with her, and I want to do it again.” I grab his phone off the coffee table and shove it his way. “I can’t do that without knowing who she is. After we get her full name, you’re in charge of using your background check database to find out as much information as we can about her.”
“Do I have to?” he whines.
“You know I’m shit with computers. Remember that time I downloaded porn to my mom’s desktop because I clicked on a suspicious link in my email?”
“Oh my god.” Leo bursts out laughing. “She was so fucking pissed at you.”
“I’ll make it worth your while.” I put a hand on his shoulder. “You know that girl who works in the house next to ours at Fright Nights?”
“The redhead?” He smiles shyly. “She’s nice.”
“That’s the one. Janey is friends with her. I’ll talk you up next time she’s around to try and get her attention. I also promise to let you have a front row seat the night I invite Maxine over—as long as she’s comfortable with being watched. I don’t want to push her to do anything she’s not fully onboard with.”
“But you want to invade her privacy? I can’t wait to be there when she realizes you broke a dozen laws to find out who she is.”
“It’s romantic.”
“I’m sure every creep in history has said the same thing. I’m going to need more than that as a reward. I’m a good guy, Hunt. Cyberstalking isn’t in my wheelhouse.”
“What else do you want?” I ask. “Money? I have plenty. You know my side gig pays well.”
He raises an eyebrow. “How much does a body disposal earn you, exactly?”
My lips twitch at his curiosity. Leo has always wanted to know the bare minimum about what goes on behind closeddoors. He’s aware of some of the logistics: the planning. The extensive cleanup to make the death look like an accident, but he doesn’t want to be too involved.
I’m convinced he’d fold in a second during a police interview. He can’t lie to save his life.
I don’t walk around killing random people who cut me off in traffic. There’s a vetting process. A waiting period between someone applying to the program to the target being taken out. We need probable cause. A motive for the violence and assurance the world would be better without the deceased in it. Proof that their behavior is beyond fixing and no one would miss them if they were gone.
Only when all the boxes are ticked do we go in and perform the extraction. Our discretion comes with a heavy price tag, and I haven’t told him about my compensation. He knows the pay is good because he’s reaping the benefits of it. We’ve been in the six-bedroom, four thousand square foot home sitting on five acres for a few years now, and he didn’t bat an eye when I paid it off fully in cash.
“You really want to know?”
“I need to make sure I’m offered fair compensation if I take the money route.”
I smirk. “A hundred thousand a kill. Bonus if we leave the body, stage the crime scene, and no questioning is involved.”
